Astronomers say carbon dioxide on Jupiter's moon Europa likely originated in ocean

NIRCam (the Near Infrared Camera) on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured this picture of the surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa. Webb identified carbon dioxide on the icy surface of Europa that likely originated in the moon’s subsurface ocean. Photo courtesy of NASA Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope shows carbon dioxide on a region of Jupiter's moon Europa, suggesting it potentially could harbor conditions suitable for life.

Astronomers found carbon dioxide on the icy surface of a region called Tara Regio, and analysis from two studies suggests it likely originated in the moon's subsurface ocean.

"Understanding the chemistry of Europa's ocean will help us determine whether it's hostile to life as we know it, or if it might be a good place for life," Geronimo Villanueva, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said in a news release.

Villanueva is the lead author of one of the studies. Using Webb's Near-Infrared Spectrograph instrument, researchers determined the chemical composition of ice by measuring the amount of light at different wavelengths.

"We now think we have observational evidence that the carbon we see on Europa's surface came from the ocean. That's not a trivial thing. Carbon is a biologically essential element," Samantha Trumbo, of Cornell University in Ithaca and lead author of the other paper, said.

Heavy concentrations of carbon dioxide in the salty Tara Regio region, where the surface ice has been disrupted, suggest the carbon originated deep in the ocean. This suggests a similarity with Earth's deep-sea hydrothermal vent systems, where life on Earth may have originated, Scientific American reported.

Villanueva's looked for a plume of water vapor but found no evidence in the new Webb data. Plumes were tentatively detected in previous research, suggesting they could be variable.

"This work gives a first hint of all the amazing solar system science we'll be able to do with Webb," Heidi Hammel of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, said in the NASA news release.

In October 2024, NASA is set to launch its Europa Clipper spacecraft, which will further study the possibility of life-sustaining conditions on Europa.

The rest of the Thomas Gold keyword, sorted:

Strange life forms create an "alien" ecosystem in an abandoned uranium mine [02/07/2023]
Earth Is An Oil-Producing Machine -- We're Not Running Out: Fossil Fuels is a misnomer. Research from the last decade found that hydrocarbons are synthesized abiotically. [12/10/2022]
Scientists revive 100 million-year-old microbes from the sea [07/28/2020]
Scientists Revive 100-Million-Year-Old Microbes Found Deep Below the Bottom of the Ocean [07/28/2020]
Bizarre life-forms found thriving in ancient rocks beneath the seafloor [04/04/2020]
Nobody knows what's creating oxygen on Mars [11/14/2019]
Cause of mysterious methane spikes on Mars still unknown [08/14/2019]
NASA's Curiosity Rover Detects Spike in Methane on Mars [06/22/2019]
No Signs of Aliens in the Closest 1,300 Stars, Hunt Funded by Russian Billionaire Reveals [06/19/2019]
Curiosity rover confirms source of seasonal methane spikes on Mars [04/02/2019]
There Is Definitely Methane on Mars, Scientists Say. But Is It a Sign of Life? [04/01/2019]
Alien Hunters, Stop Using the Drake Equation [12/29/2018]
Life in deep Earth totals 15 to 23 billion tons of carbon -- hundreds of times more than humans [12/10/2018]
There be dragons? Creatures you might find on a real journey to the centre of the Earth [04/26/2016]
Earth Is An Oil-Producing Machine Ã¢¬" We're Not Running Out [11/06/2015]
New methane organisms discovered [10/23/2015]
Oil-Eating Microbes Have Worldwide Underground Connections [03/13/2015]
Astronomy Picture of the Day -- The Mysterious Methane of Mars [12/24/2014]
Whoops! Earth's Oldest 'Diamonds' Actually Polishing Grit [01/03/2014]
Surprising Trove of Gas Seeps Found Off East Coast [06/21/2013]
What If Oil Lasts Forever? Fossil fuels may not be finite. This'd be a miracle -- and a nightmare [04/25/2013]
Most of Earth covered with life powered on hydrogen. Living Rocks? [03/20/2013]
Microbes Likely Abundant Hundreds of Meters Below Sea Floor [03/15/2013]
Hydrocarbons Could Form Deep In the Earth From Methane, Not Animal Remains [12/25/2012]
Scientists Find Mega-Oil Field ... 1,300 Light Years Away [12/13/2012]
No Sign of Methane on Mars; Abstract Thought Melts Political Convictions [11/02/2012]
Gases Created When Meteors Slam into Planets May Provide False-Positives of Life [09/25/2012]
Billions of Tons of Methane Lurk Beneath Antarctic Ice [08/29/2012]
Oldest known impact crater found [07/08/2012]
Fossil Fuels. When are we going to stop using this false description of anaerobic oil? [06/04/2012]
Arctic melt releasing ancient methane [05/20/2012]
Huge Natural Gas From Methane Hydrates Process Developed [05/03/2012]
XKCD - Lakes and Oceans [04/09/2012]
What If Oil and Natural Gas Are Renewable Resources? (Evidence mounting on limitless supply of oil) [03/19/2012]
What If Oil and Natural Gas Are Renewable Resources? [03/18/2012]
The Oil Scarcity Myth [03/17/2012]
Unconventional Completion Technology Revives Old Oil Fields [02/24/2012]
300 million year old fossilized forest discovered under coal mine in China [02/22/2012]
Methane Bubbling to Arctic Ocean Surface in Giant Plumes [12/15/2011]
NASA Finds Hydrocarbons on Saturn's Moon Hyperion [07/16/2011]
Are we sitting on unlimited fossil-fuel resources? [06/03/2011]
'Worms from hell' unearth possibilities for extraterrestrial life [06/02/2011]
Everything you've heard about fossil fuels may be wrong [05/31/2011]
Scientists plan to drill all the way down to the Earth's mantle [05/21/2011]
Hydrocarbons in the deep earth - (Renewable? Maybe..National Academy of Science weights in) [05/11/2011]
Hydrocarbons Deep Within Earth: New Computational Study Reveals How [04/18/2011]
Hydrocarbons Could Form Deep In the Earth From Methane, Not Animal Remains [04/16/2011]
Hydrocarbons in the deep earth (abiogenic) [04/15/2011]
Bacteria devoured methane gas from gulf oil spill, scientists say [01/07/2011]
Life is found in deepest layer of Earth's crust [11/19/2010]
Study: Petroleum-eating microbes significantly reduced gulf oil plume ( Deepwater Horizon oilspill ) [08/24/2010]
New microbe discovered eating oil spill in Gulf [08/24/2010]
Hydrocarbons In The Deep Earth? [08/09/2010]
WHOI scientists find ancient asphalt domes off California coast (Maltenes?) [04/25/2010]
Abiotic Oil and Gas: A Theory That Refuses To Vanish [03/29/2010]
Debunking the Myth of Peak Oil - Why the Age of Cheap Oil is Far From Over [03/17/2010]
Hidden Gas Source Could Speed Global Warming [03/05/2010]
New research rejects 80-year theory of 'primordial soup' as the origin of life [02/02/2010]
Much of the early methane rise can be attributed to the spreading of northern peatlands [01/14/2010]
Abiotic Synthesis Of Methane: New Evidence Supports 19th-Century Idea On Formation Of Oil [12/20/2009]
Scientists Find Black Gold Amidst Overlooked Data [11/23/2009]
New evidence supports 19th century idea on formation of oil and gas [11/04/2009]
Revolutionary discovery means world may not run out of crude [09/14/2009]
Easier to find oil ( Abiogenic ? ) [09/11/2009]
Methane-derived hydrocarbons produced under upper-mantle conditions [09/11/2009]
Fossil fuel: Now without the fossils-Just dig deeper, say boffins [09/11/2009]
A Seismic Shift In Understanding How The Earth Got Its Gas [08/30/2009]
Can Hydrocarbons Form in the Mantle Without Organic Matter? [07/28/2009]
Hydrocarbons in the deep Earth? (Oil comes from non-plant sources) [07/27/2009]
New research shows how oil gets stuck underground (Denmark) [05/11/2009]
Methane-producing mineral discovered on Mars [03/28/2009]
Half Of The Oil In The Ocean Bubbles Up Naturally From Seafloor [02/23/2009]
Life found on Mars? [01/14/2009]
BBC Audio: Dyson and Clarke (archive of BBC interviews with Freeman Dyson,Arthur C. Clarke & more!) [12/26/2008]
The List: The World's Largest Untapped Oil Fields [12/01/2008]
Plumes of methane identified on Mars - Finding could influence choice of landing site for Mars... [10/21/2008]
One is the loneliest number for mine-dwelling bacterium [10/09/2008]
At 2.8 km down, a 1-of-a-kind microorganism lives all alone [descende, Audax viator ...] [10/09/2008]
Rare Microorganism That Produces Hydrogen May Be Key To Tomorrow's Hydrogen Economy [07/08/2008]
Meet the Intraterrestrials [06/12/2008]
Scientists Document Bustling Community Far Below Ocean Floor [05/27/2008]
Dinosaur killer may have struck oil [05/08/2008]
Titan Has More Oil Than Earth [02/16/2008]
Titan Has More Oil Than Earth [02/14/2008]
Titan Has More Oil Than Earth [02/13/2008]
Titan's surface organics surpass oil reserves on Earth [02/13/2008]
BLACK-GOLD BLUES Discovery backs theory oil not 'fossil fuel' [02/02/2008]
Deep-ocean vents are a source of oil and gas (evidence of abiogenic hydrocarbons) [01/31/2008]
Lost City pumps life-essential chemicals at rates unseen at typical black smokers [01/31/2008]
Shedding light on deep-sea thermal vents [01/15/2008]
Oil-eating bacteria make light work of heavy fuel [12/12/2007]
Massive deep-water oil find in Brazil challenges technology [12/01/2007]
Newly Discovered Methane-Consuming Bacterium Could Help Reduce GHG Emissions ... [11/26/2007]
Energy answers sought in Earth's crust [08/13/2007]
'Peak oil' doomsayers fall silent as reserves grow ever larger [04/12/2007]
Rebel with a Cause: The Optimistic Scientist [04/10/2007]
Sea floor records ancient Earth [03/23/2007]
The Origins of Peak Oil Doomerism [12/11/2006]
If hydrocarbons are renewable- then is "Peak Oil" a fraud? [12/05/2006]
CNBC Live: Earth Oil Supplies 3x Previous Estimates [11/14/2006]
Geologist: Earth has lots and lots of oil (error in DRUDGE story - UPI may fix) [10/20/2006]
Prospecting for Oil? Look In an Asteroid Crater [10/07/2006]
Plenty of Oil -- Just Drill Deeper [09/06/2006]
Peak oil theorists don't know Jack ( It Could Increase U.S. Reserves by 50% ) [09/05/2006]
Marine Methane Heats Things Up [09/01/2006]
Time Before Time [speculative cosmology] [08/30/2006]
Gas escaping from ocean floor may drive global warming [07/20/2006]
Oil Is Well: The Shortage Is A Myth, And Not A New One [06/04/2006]
Does Deep Earth Host Untapped Fuel? [03/05/2006]
Are There Aliens Already on Earth? [02/20/2006]
UC Riverside Researchers Identify Clay as Major Contributor to Oxygen that Enabled Early Animal Life [02/03/2006]
Perspective: India's next big business? (Oil) [12/17/2005]
'Fossil fuel' theory takes hit with NASA finding [12/02/2005]
At 30,000 feet down, where were the dinosaurs? [11/29/2005]
Finally, an international conference on abiotic oil [11/23/2005]
What if we don't run out of oil? [11/15/2005]
Shaped from clay [origin of life] [11/04/2005]
Methane on Mars: the plot thickens [08/02/2005]
LINK LISTING - Space Propulsion Techniques and Technologies [01/24/2005]
Hydrogen Production Method Could Bolster Fuel Supplies [11/27/2004]
Fossil Fuels Made without Fossils [10/28/2004]
A new potential source of fuel, buried deep underground ~ methane gas created in lab with rocks only [10/10/2004]
About Coal: America's most abundant energy resource [10/07/2004]
Abiotic Theory of Oil Formation [06/09/2004]
Petroleum age is just beginning [08/15/2003]
Anything into Oil(solution to dependence on foregn oil?) [04/21/2003]
Oil Without End? [02/15/2003]
Early Water on Earth [02/09/2003]
Research Finds Life 1000 Feet Beneath Ocean Floor [01/03/2003]
Supplies of oil may be inexhaustible [05/29/2002]
Potential oil supply refill? [05/28/2002]
Oil Fields' Free Refill - More oil than we thought (maybe) [04/23/2002]
Huge hydrogen stores found below Earth's crust [04/15/2002]
The world has more oil not less [12/24/2001]
Scientist stirs the cauldron: oil, he says, is renewable [11/19/2001]
Oil Czar and ally [10/11/2001]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.